Southern California Winter Storms

Storm After Storm: A Soaked Southland Braces Again

LOS ANGELES—The air smells like wet asphalt and pine, and the Santa Ana winds that usually swagger through December have been replaced by a cold Pacific onslaught. Record rainfall—more than 3 inches in 24 hours downtown—has turned freeways into reflecting pools and the San Gabriel Mountains into a snow-capped fortress visible from Long Beach.

The Numbers That Broke the Gauge

According to the National Weather Service, this is the wettest start to the winter season since 1965. Some foothill communities have seen 7-plus inches since Sunday. The storm system, a "bomb cyclone" that barreled down from the Gulf of Alaska, parked itself over the Southland for 36 hours, funneling moisture that originated near Hawaii—an atmospheric river that meteorologists call a "Pineapple Express."

"We went from drought to deluge in one weekend," said Ariel Cohen, a senior forecaster at the NWS Los Angeles office. "The ground is saturated; the next storm has nowhere to go but sideways—into homes and highways."

Mountain Snow, Valley Chaos

Interstate 5 over the Grapevine was shut for 14 hours after spun-out tractor-trailers created an icy parking lot at 4,000 feet. Meanwhile, in the valley below, first responders in Burbank used inflatable boats to evacuate seniors from a ground-floor assisted-living facility when a clogged storm drain turned the complex into a waist-deep canal.

• Power outages: 138,000 customers across L.A. and Orange counties.
• Swift-water rescues: 42 and climbing.
• Snow forecast for the San Bernardino peaks: another 18–24 inches by Thursday night.

The Human Toll Behind the Headlines

In Riverside’s Canyon Crest neighborhood, 38-year-old Alejandra Morales spent Tuesday night on the roof of her SUV after the usually tame Arroyo Creek jumped its banks. "I grabbed the kids, the dog, and my grandmother’s photo albums," she said, shivering under a Red Cross blanket. "Everything else is under water."

Similar scenes are playing out from Ventura’s strawberry fields to San Diego’s Mission Valley, where the San Diego River—often derided as a trickle—has swollen into a brown, churning half-mile ribbon forcing closure of Fashion Valley Mall for only the third time in its 55-year history.

Another Storm, Another Stress Test

Forecasters warn the next front arrives late Thursday, carrying an additional 1–2 inches of rain along the coast and up to 4 inches on south-facing mountains. Wind gusts could top 60 mph, enough to topple weakened oaks and snap power lines still jury-rigged from the last outage.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for six counties, freeing state funds for debris removal and shelter. But the bureaucratic wheels can feel slow when water is rising. In the Burns Park neighborhood of Woodland Hills, residents stacked 2,500 sandbags overnight—only to watch the storm drains gurgle like bathtubs with the plug still in.

"We’ve been asking for bigger storm drains since 2005," said resident Kenji Okada, a civil engineer who moved from Tokyo for the sunshine. "In Japan, we plan for 100-year floods. Here, we plan for press conferences."

Climate, Concrete, and the Cost of Living

Climate scientists note that a warming Pacific supercharges atmospheric rivers, turning them from seasonal soakings into fire-hose events. Meanwhile, decades of urban sprawl have paved over the very floodplains that once absorbed such surges. The result: every $1,000 of rain damage adds invisible interest to the already high cost of living in the Golden State.

Still, there are moments of levity. At Venice Beach on Wednesday, a rogue wave deposited a juvenile elephant seal on the bike path. Volunteers named her "Wavy" and coaxed her back to the surf with sardines—perhaps the only Angeleno enjoying the new normal.

What Happens Next

Officials urge residents to clear gutters, stock 72-hour emergency kits, and avoid driving through standing water—half of flood drownings occur in vehicles. Snow enthusiasts are ecstatic; Big Bear resorts plan to open 100% of terrain by the weekend. But for thousands still mopping mud from living rooms, the forecast is simpler: another storm, another stress test, and another reminder that in Southern California, winter now arrives with a roar, not a whisper.